


The Reluctant Handyman

by CaptainMarvel42



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BB-8 Ships It, Cat BB-8, Drinking, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Handyman Ben Solo, Minor Poe Dameron/Finn, Neighbors, No Pregnancy, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:40:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26936788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainMarvel42/pseuds/CaptainMarvel42
Summary: "Bad morning?" a pleasantly deep voice asked.Rey opened her eyes and saw that it was her next-door neighbour. He was wearing a navy blue suit, which was a departure from all the black she was used to seeing him wearing. It was also a lot later than he was usually home. Sometimes she ran into him when she went for a morning run before work.That hadn't happened as often as she would have liked.Or: when Rey's heat doesn't work, who does her landlord call to fix it? Her next-door neighbour Ben who she talked to for the first time that morning.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 102
Kudos: 580
Collections: Fall Fic Exchange 2020





	1. The Morning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dyadinbloom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyadinbloom/gifts).



> For dyadinbloom who wrote this amazing prompt:
> 
> "It's finally fall! Everyone loves this time of year where the mornings are chilly and the days are just the right temperature for sweaters, leggings, and lattes. But when Rey wakes up one cold 40 degree morning with her heat out, she knows she has to get that fixed. Luckily, the landlord's favorite handyman lives right next door, so Rey hopes Ben Solo can repair the problem right away. Will he fix the heat? Will he have to cuddle Rey for warmth? Will she end up sleeping at his apartment before her toes freeze off? Will Ben put Rey's cat, BB, into his plaid shirt to keep it warm? Only you know, dear writer...! :)"
> 
> I hope you like it!

Rey was irritated by the sound of her alarm. She had gotten home late last night and barely had the energy to get ready for bed before passing out. 

Work was slowly killing her this week. 

It wasn't that Rey didn't like her job – she loved it – but their projected donations for the rest of the year didn't look great. Rey had come up with the idea for a Halloween fundraiser, and Amilyn was impressed enough by her proposal to put Rey in charge.

Rey didn't want to disappoint her. 

Getting this job had changed Rey's life. It was rare to find a non-profit with decent pay and benefits. It allowed Rey to save up enough money to live on her own for the first time in her life. 

Years of living with roommates had some positives – she met her best friend Finn and she saved enough money to pay off most of her student loans – but there were _many_ negatives. 

It didn't help that she'd often had three or more roommates at a time. 

On one memorable occasion, a college roommate put a roast chicken in the oven and then passed out in his bedroom. Her and Finn found what was left of it when they were getting ready for school the next morning. When confronted, Snap had _refused_ to admit he was the one who put the chicken in the oven. 

Rey was still surprised that there hadn't been a fire.

Her alarm went off again. Rey groaned; she must have hit snooze instead of turning it off. Resigned to her fate, Rey forced herself to get out of bed. 

Icy air hit her as soon as she left the comfort of her blankets. It was like she had gone out in a blizzard while wearing pajamas. 

Rey threw herself back under her blankets. 

_It's freezing._

Cold weather wasn't unusual for October, but it had been so warm up until now – a welcome extended summer – that Rey hadn't turned on her heat. She hadn't needed to turn it on once since she moved in during the summer.

Rey wondered how much her heating bill was going to cost. 

Determined to turn on her heat and warm up, Rey wrapped her duvet around herself like a shawl and shuffled across her apartment. For the first time, Rey was thankful that she could only afford to rent a bachelor suite. It didn't take long for her to get to the thermostat by her door.

Impatient, Rey set the temperature much higher than she usually would. She hoped her apartment would warm up quicker that way. That was another advantage of a small apartment: it wouldn't take long to heat up. 

Rey realized she was shivering. She decided to skip her morning shower and breakfast. She would get ready and walk to the nearby coffee shop. It was likely warmer _outside_ than in her apartment. 

After putting on one of her favourite floral dresses and extra warm tights, she added a scarf to her outfit and grabbed her gloves. She picked her warmest wool jacket and a pair of fleece lined boots. 

Rey hated the cold. She grew up in Jakku, and it didn't seem to matter how long it had been since she left, she never adjusted to colder temperatures. 

Finally ready to leave, Rey locked up and put her keys in her purse. The hallway was blissfully warm. She sighed in relief. 

A couple of steps away from her door, Rey stopped walking. She looked back in her purse and saw that her phone wasn't there.

_Fuck._

She had to go back inside her apartment. 

Rey braced herself for the cold. 

She unlocked her door, ran inside, found her phone on her nightstand, ran back into the hallway, and slammed the door shut behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This day was not off to a good start. 

"Bad morning?" a pleasantly deep voice asked. 

Rey opened her eyes and saw that it was her next-door neighbour. He was wearing a navy blue suit, which was a departure from all the black she was used to seeing him wearing. It was also a lot later than he was usually home. Sometimes she ran into him when she went for a morning run before work.

That hadn't happened as often as she would have liked. She had thought her runs were _before_ he usually left for work, but one morning, after a restless night, she went for a much earlier run and caught him as he was leaving for work. The scowl of his face and dark circles under his eyes had told her that he was _not_ a morning person. 

That was when she realized her runs were usually too _early_ to bump into him.

She had tried to go for an earlier run the next day, but she wasn't a morning person either. Besides, it was silly to get up early to run into a neighbour who had never talked to her. 

She'd tried not to be too disappointed that her inability to get up before the sun rose meant she rarely saw her neighbour.

Until now.

Rey huffed. "How can you tell?" 

He raised his eyebrows. "The way you slammed your door shut was the first hint."

She noticed there weren't any dark circles under his eyes today. He also looked good wearing something other than black. Not that he didn't usually look good, but it brightened up his face and drew her attention to his eyes. They were a warmer shade of brown than she'd realized. 

She felt suddenly self-conscious about her unwashed hair and make-up free face. He looked so well put together and she didn't. 

She gave him a slight grin. "And the second?"

"You're frowning."

Rey's jaw tightened. "Please tell me you're not one of those men who asks women to smile." She had hoped he had been attempting to flirt with her, but it turned out he was being judgemental. She felt silly for letting herself hope because nothing good was going to happen today. 

His eyes widened. "That's not what I–"

"I have to go," Rey said, cutting him off. She needed to end this conversation before he picked up on her disappointment. 

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it instead. 

Rey didn't handle uncomfortable silences well. "See you later," she said before turning around and fleeing down the hall. 

Maybe this was why they had never talked before. Rey was happier to imagine what her attractive neighbour could be like than to be disappointed by the reality. One part of her knew snapping at him had been too harsh, but another part – the part that hadn't had breakfast or coffee yet – felt justified. 

🍃🍂🍃

_Was I rude?_

Rey replayed their interaction in her mind as she walked to Maz's. By the time she made it inside the coffee shop, she had admitted to herself that she _may_ have overreacted. Next time she saw him she'd apologize. 

Or maybe she'd avoid him instead. It wasn't like they had similar hours. She was surprised that she saw him today, much later than when he usually left for work. 

Rey opened the door of Maz's Castle, an eclectic coffee shop with an eccentric owner, and breathed in the familiar scent of freshly brewed coffee. She had found this coffee shop the first weekend after she moved into her apartment. Exhausted from unpacking and new to the area, Rey had gone for a walk to find somewhere for breakfast. Maz's Castle didn't look like much on the outside, but the best places in this city never did.

It hadn't disappointed her. They baked all their pastries in-house, so she'd ordered what turned out to be a still warm croissant and one of the best lattes in the city. Every time she visited, she was served in a different mug and her latte always had stunning latte art. She wondered what she would get today.

It must have been the peak of the morning rush because the line went all the way from the register to the door. 

Rey's stomach growled. She joined the line and rubbed her arms, trying to warm up. The coffee shop would have been warm enough if she hadn't been so close to the door. Every time the door opened, she was hit by a wave of bone chillingly cold air.

When she got closer to the front of the line, she noticed that Maz was working the till, which she only did when they were short staffed. That explained the line.

"Rey," Maz said, interrupting her thoughts, "I don't usually see you on weekdays."

Rey sighed. "I'll have a latte and a breakfast wrap."

 _"Someone's_ in a bad mood," Maz said.

"Sorry," Rey said. "I didn't turn my heat on yesterday, so it was freezing in my apartment, and I haven't eaten yet either… I shouldn't take it out on you." It wasn't only the food that kept her coming back to Maz's most weekends, it was also the owner. Maz took the time to get to know her customers, and she was a great listener. Her advice, which sometimes seemed odd, always turned out to be solid. 

Maz shrugged and put in her order. "We all have bad days."

🍃🍂🍃

This time her latte was served in a bright blue mug, and the latte art was a snowman. Upon closer inspection the snowman was frowning. Rey figured that the art was a pointed comment about her mood this morning.

Her mood was a little better after a few sips of her latte.

After a few bites of her breakfast wrap, her mood was a lot better. Rey hated the word 'hangry', but she had to admit it suited her at times. Knowing she hated the word, Poe used it regularly and gleefully to irritate her. 

She often told Poe she only put up with him because she loved his cat BB-8 and because Finn loved him.

But it was mostly the cat.

🍃🍂🍃

Rey put her dishes in the cart by the entrance to the kitchen. She hated when people left their dirty dishes at their table, especially when coffee shops were busy. One of her jobs in university was working as a barista at a subpar coffee chain. She wished she had found a place like Maz's to work at back then. It would have been nice to enjoy one of her part time jobs. 

Thinking about college made her feel even more fortunate about her current job. They had flexible hours, so as long as she kept up with her workload, she could start and end work at the time that worked best for her. Rey didn't want to push her luck, so she usually worked the standard nine-to-five day, but on days like today it was nice to take her time getting to the office. 

The door to the kitchen opened and Maz came out. She met Rey at the cart. "Feeling any better?"

"Yes," Rey said, "all I needed was a good breakfast and one of your lattes."

"I have a feeling that your luck is going to take a turn for the better." Maz gave Rey a serious look. "Though you might not notice it at first."

"I hope you're right," Rey said. She didn't feel particularly optimistic.

Maz raised her eyebrows. "Aren't I always?"

Maz did have an uncanny ability to predict the future. 

"We'll see," Rey said. "I'll tell you if you were right when I see you this weekend."

Maz nodded. "I'm looking forward to it." 

🍃🍂🍃

So far Maz's prediction hadn't proved true.

It was almost eleven and Rey was still answering emails. She _hated_ answering emails. Even when she kept her replies short and to the point, they would somehow be misinterpreted. Her favourite part of the weekend was not looking at her work email.

Rey looked away from her computer and saw Rose walking over. 

Rey smiled. Rose was her favourite co-worker, and she was quickly becoming one of Rey's best friends. She came across as super sweet, and she _was,_ but she also had a more colourful vocabulary than anyone else Rey had ever met, and she regularly drank the rest of Rey's friends under the table. 

"Poe's here," Rose said, sounding annoyed. 

Rey's brows wrinkled. "He said he wouldn't be here until the end of the day."

"Then he's early." Rose shrugged.

That was very unlike Poe. "Did he bring Beebee?"

"Yes," Rose said, "and it would have been nice if you _warned_ me."

"I thought you liked Beebee?" Rey asked. Rose had bought BB-8 a ridiculous number of toys since she had met Poe. 

"I do!" Rose agreed. "But I'm _allergic_ to cats, and it's not like I carry around allergy meds in the fall."

Rey winced. "I forgot." 

"You better be planning on sending Poe and Beebee away."

"I'm cat sitting while he and Finn go on their vacation," Rey explained. She wished she was going to the beach. 

Rose sighed. "I'll go grab a box of tissues then." She started walking away.

"I'm sorry," Rey called out. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey met Poe at the front desk. He didn't look as put together as he normally did. His shirt was wrinkled and his hair was messier than she had ever seen it except for when for when he was hungover. He was holding a cat kennel with a sleeping BB-8 inside. He also had a much larger bag of supplies than she had expected. 

Rey crossed her arms. "You're early."

"Am I?" Poe asked, trying and failing to sound innocent. 

"You're _never_ early."

"I may have remembered the flight time wrong," he admitted.

"How off were you?"

"Finn's downstairs in an Uber, and we'll miss our flight if we hit too much traffic."

Rey snorted. "Finn isn't happy with you right now, is he?"

"The sooner we're on a beach the better." Poe handed her the cat kennel and the bag filled to the brim with food and toys. 

"What am I supposed to do with Beebee at work?" Rey asked.

"You'll figure it out," Poe said, giving her a wide smile. 

Rey sighed. "I guess I will."

Poe gave her a quick hug. "You're a life-saver." 

"You owe me," Rey said. 

"Add it to my tab." Poe waved goodbye and ran to the elevator.

"Oh, I _will,"_ Rey promised. 

She looked down at the sleeping orange tabby. "What am I going to do with you?"


	2. The First Night

Rey was relieved to _finally_ leave work. It wasn't only Rose who had been annoyed by BB-8's presence. Amilyn hadn't been pleased, not because of allergies like Rose, but because productivity sharply declined when BB-8 arrived. It wasn't Rey's fault that her colleagues were so easily distracted by an adorable cat.

Rey should have anticipated Poe disrupting her day. He was going to be gone for two weeks, so he had to meet his quota for irritation for the month.

She was being unfair. Yes, Poe gave her a hard time, but that was because she did the same to him. She interrogated him when he started seeing Finn, and he made fun of her for having Pop-Tarts for dinner. They also helped each other out. She reminded him of important dates and helped him buy gifts for Finn, and he taught her how to cook some easy meals. 

And she had offered to take BB-8 in while they were gone. She was looking forward to having the company. With Finn and Poe on vacation and work so busy, she knew she would have a lot of alone time. While she was a little introverted and needed her alone time, she also needed some regular small group social interaction. Without it, she got lonely. 

It didn't help that most of her friends were coupled up and she hadn't dated since she started her new job. She told herself that she didn't _need_ to be in a relationship, which was true, but that didn't mean she didn't _want_ to be in one. She saw what Finn and Poe had – the trust and easy affection – and she wanted it for herself. 

Not that she put herself out there. The last time she checked a dating app was in the spring.

Her mind drifted to the morning and how she had talked to her neighbour for the first time. She imagined it going differently. She would have liked to have run into him on a day where she spent some extra time on her hair and make-up. Maybe on a weekend when neither of them had to go to work, where they could have gone for coffee and then spent the afternoon together. She could have invited him over for dinner and cooked one of the meals Poe taught her to make. And then when he was about to leave, he could have kissed her, and she could have pulled him back towards her bed…

It had been _far_ too long since Rey's last date. 

At least she had BB-8 to keep her company tonight. 

🍃🍂🍃

Getting her keys out while holding BB-8's kennel and the bag of supplies Poe gave her was a struggle. When she finally found her keys at the bottom of her purse, she smiled at her success.

Sure, she could have put some stuff down, but that would have taken a few extra seconds. Rey was damp from the rain outside and wanted nothing more than a warm shower and a hot chocolate.

Her smile vanished as soon as she walked inside her apartment. 

_Fuck, it's freezing._

Rey put everything down and let BB-8 out of her kennel. 

She'd thought she had already turned her heat on, but maybe she hadn't. Rey went over to the thermostat intending to turn the heat on properly this time. 

It was already on. 

_Fuck._

She turned the knob off and then on again, but she didn't hear the heat turn on like she wanted. She ran her hands along the edges of the thermostat, hoping for a button or _something_ that she had missed, but there was _nothing._

Rey resisted the urge to scream. She didn't want to scare BB-8. 

She took a deep breath. She was an adult, which meant she could handle this. All she needed to do was contact her landlord, and he would send someone to fix it. 

Rey got out her phone. 

Luke Skywalker  
  
**Today** 7:05 PM  
**Rey:** This is Rey from 302. My heat's not working.  
  


Now all she could do was wait. 

Rey picked up BB-8. "I'm sorry you're here for this." She scratched behind BB-8's ears, and the cat gave an unhappy moan. Her fur was cold. 

Rey placed BB-8 on her bed and wrapped her in the warmest blanket she had. Despite how miserable Rey was, she couldn't help but melt a little at how adorable BB-8 looked. 

She looked at her phone to see if Luke had replied. 

Luke Skywalker  
  
**Today** 7:05 PM  
**Rey:** This is Rey from 302. My heat's not working.  
**Today** 7:12 PM  
Luke is typing...

While waiting for Luke's text, Rey took a photo of BB-8. "This is for Poe," she told the cat. "He made me promise to send pictures."

Her phone beeped. 

Luke Skywalker  
  
**Today** 7:12 PM  
**Luke:** I'm sorry to hear that. Ben should be able to fix it.  
  
**Today** 7:13 PM  
**Rey:** Who's Ben?  
  
**Today** 7:17 PM  
**Luke:** Your neighbour in 304. I've told him to expect you.  
  


Rey's stomach sank. She didn't want to ask her neighbour – Ben she just learned – for a favour. 

She didn't have any other options. 

Rey picked up BB-8 and brought her into the hall. She scratched behind BB-8's ears, and the orange tabby purred. At least _someone_ was in a good mood. After their awkward interaction that morning, Rey had planned on avoiding Ben, but now that wasn't an option. 

Rey stood in front of 304 and took a deep breath. She knocked on the door. 

Holding BB-8 in her arms helped calm her anxiety. Rey was glad that she’d agreed to cat-sit. Facing Ben after their interaction this morning and asking for a favour was going to be uncomfortable.

Ben opened the door, and his eyes widened when he saw her. Did Luke not tell him she was coming?

"You're Rey?" he asked.

"Yes," she confirmed. So he hadn’t known her name either. "You're Luke's handyman?" Rey tried not to sound skeptical, but she had good reason to be. What type of handyman wore suits to work? His tie was off and his shirtsleeves were rolled up, and he was still mostly wearing the same suit he had worn in the morning. It was a good look. 

But he didn't look like he was ready to _fix_ anything, which was Rey's main priority. 

Ben snorted. "He'd like to think so."

That wasn't promising. "Can you fix it?" Rey asked, scrunching her nose.

"Maybe," he said, "I'll have to take a look." He motioned for her to lead the way. 

Rey took a step back.

Ben locked his door, brining only his keys and phone

"Don't you have tools?" she asked.

"I do, but I'll see what the problem is first."

Rey led Ben into her apartment and tried not to be self-conscious of the mess. She wanted to say that her place was usually a lot tidier, but that wasn't true. Everything was clean – with the exception of the unwashed dishes in her sink – but she had a hard time putting her things away. There was a half-read book on her bedside table next to a couple of other books she had on the go. A stack of pens was on her kitchen table next to some recently worn jewelry. There was also a pile of clean clothes on her chair that she needed to put in her closet. 

Ben didn't comment on the messiness of her apartment, which she appreciated. 

_It doesn't look_ that _bad._

She had decorated her place with care, buying lots of plants and using light colours to make the small apartment feel bigger. It was a lived-in space. 

Rey put BB-8 on the bed, wrapping her back up in the blanket. 

Ben raised his eyebrows. 

"Beebee's cold," Rey said, rubbing her arms.

Ben snorted. "The cat looks like it wants to escape."

"She doesn't!" Rey looked down and BB-8 and saw how she was wiggling her way out of the blanket. "Okay, maybe she does.” 

Ben went over to the thermostat, and turned the knob so that it was set to a comfortable temperature. 

Nothing happened. 

Rey crossed her arms. "I tried that!"

Ben shrugged. "I had to check."

He then moved to her hall closet and opened the door. 

She moved closer to see what he was doing. It looked like he was opening a panel. "What is it?" Rey asked. 

"Give me a minute." Ben closed the panel and walked over to the window. He checked one of the vents. 

Rey watched him for what felt like ages. She was surprised to see that it looked like he knew what he was doing. 

As he inspected the vent, his shirt strained at the buttons, the tightness showing off how muscular he was. She didn't expect someone who wore a suit every day to have such well defined muscles. She also didn't expect him to be an on-call handyman for her landlord.

She wondered what he looked like under that shirt. 

Ben straightened and turned towards her. 

Rey quickly averted her gaze and felt herself flush. She hoped he didn't catch her staring. 

Ben sighed. "I have good news and bad news."

"Let's start with the good news." Rey hoped the good news was that her heat would be fixed soon. She bit her lip. 

"Changing the filter _should_ solve your problem,” Ben said, drawing in a breath and then releasing it. “Luke _should_ have had it done before you moved in."

That sounded promising. "And the bad news?"

Ben winced slightly. "I won't be able to get one until tomorrow."

Rey swallowed. Her throat was dry. "That _is_ bad news." She’d have to keep her jacket on and have something warm to drink. BB-8 could stay wrapped up in the blanket. 

It would be _fine._

Ben tilted his head. “I can pick up the new filter after work tomorrow,” he said, holding her gaze. 

“You don’t have to do that,” Rey said. She didn't want him to go out of his way to get it. “Give me the information and I’ll pick it up.”

Ben agreed and told her the type of filter. She used her phone to find a picture of the filter, and when he confirmed that it was the correct type, she bookmarked the page. 

Rey put her phone in her jacket pocket and then rubbed her hands together, trying to warm them up.

"Do you have somewhere to stay?" Ben asked.

"No," Rey admitted. She couldn’t bring BB-8 to Rose’s place, and she didn’t have a key for Finn and Poe’s place. "I guess I'll just wear lots of layers." She tried to smile, but it was difficult when she was shivering from the cold. 

Ben looked away. "You can stay with me." 

"What?" Rey asked, not sure if she’d heard him right. 

"I feel bad that I can't fix your heat tonight," he said. 

"It's not your fault,” Rey said, and then she bit her lip. “Like you said, Luke should have changed the filters."

"My uncle isn't the most reliable," Ben said, shaking his head. 

She hadn’t known Luke was his uncle. _"That's_ why he asked you to help."

Ben gave her a slight smile. "He knows he doesn't have to pay me."

Rey frowned. “Are you qualified to fix my heater?”

“I know what I’m doing,” Ben said, taking a step foward and crossing his arms.

“That doesn’t fill me with confidence,” Rey said, pinching her brows together. “Do you have any training?”

“My dad worked as a handyman,” Ben said, his shoulders hunching up enough to be noticeable. She guessed either his dad or his dad's work was a sensitive topic. Whatever Ben did for a living, he clearly didn't follow in his dad's footsteps. “He taught me enough.”

Rey nodded. “Thank you for helping,” she said sincerely. It was difficult for her to ask for help, likely a product of her childhood. Bouncing around foster homes taught Rey that she could only rely on _herself._

She had friends that she trusted, but it was hard to unlearn the lessons of childhood. Finn was her oldest friend, and the friend she relied on most. He knew when to push and when not to, which made accepting support from him easier. 

However, it didn't make asking for help any easier. 

“I haven’t fixed it yet,” Ben said, taking another step towards her. “You can’t stay here tonight. You should come over." His voice was low. 

Rey shivered, but this time it wasn't from the cold.

His offer was tempting. "Are you allergic to cats?" Rey asked. 

"No," he said, smiling like he knew he had convinced her.

It hadn't taken much effort on his part. Rey dreaded the idea of spending more time in her apartment, and she had to admit she was curious to learn more about Ben. She's learned more about him in one day than the months they had lived next to one another. 

“Okay,” Rey said. She handed Ben BB-8. "Take her. I'll grab my stuff and be over in a minute."

🍃🍂🍃

_What am I doing?_

Rey threw some clothes into a tote bag and added some of her toiletries. She wanted to get somewhere warm as quickly as possible. Rey walked towards her door and then stopped abruptly. 

She looked at the clothes she packed. Her work outfit was fine, but the old t-shirt and too large pajama bottoms weren't something she wanted Ben to see her wear. 

She went back to her room and grabbed a satin sleep set with blue shorts and a matching tank top. Knowing she would be too cold, Rey also grabbed a light grey robe that she also usually wore in the summer. 

Ben had heat, so she hoped she wouldn't be too cold. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey knocked on Ben's door. 

"Come in," he called out.

Rey opened the door and took in the sight of his apartment. It was much larger than hers and there wasn't a lot of colour. His kitchen had an island, which she was incredibly jealous of because if she had that much prep space, she would likely cook more often. 

Ben was sitting on a dark grey armchair with BB-8 in his lap. 

Rey sat on the couch across from him and nodded at BB-8. "You two are getting along.

Ben scratched under BB-8's chin. "What type of name is Beebee?"

"Oh, it's worse than that. Her full name is Beebee-Ate."

"Why would you name a cat that?"

"I didn't!"

"Why would you let someone else give your cat that name?” Ben asked, raising his eyebrows. 

“She’s not mine! I’m cat sitting for a friend," Rey said. "Poe wanted her to have a unique and futuristic sounding name.”

Ben snorted. “I hope your friend never names a child.”

“If him and Finn ever settle down and have kids, Finn will make sure their kids have decent names,” she said.

Rey was slowly warming up. She hadn’t taken her jacked off yet. 

"You should shower," Ben said.

"What?" Rey asked, tensing up at the question. Despite not having showered that morning, she didn't think she looked _that_ rough. 

Ben put his hands up defensively. "You look cold! I thought it might warm you up."

He had a point.

Rey nodded.

🍃🍂🍃

The bathroom smelled like Ben. 

She put the water temperature on the hottest setting she could stand. She was already feeling better. 

He’d told her to help herself to anything she needed, so she found herself using his body wash. It looked expensive. The body wash was moisturizing and the scent was mild and earthy. 

It was strange showering in Ben’s apartment. She could hear him moving around and was wondering what he was doing. 

It made her wonder if he was listening to her or picturing her in his shower. 

Now she was picturing _him_ in his shower. She wondered how defined his muscles were and how much space he took up. His shower wasn’t small, but neither was he. 

Now she was picturing them in the shower together. Rey bit her lip and pictured Ben in the shower with her. To close the shower door, he’d have to press her up against the wall, which she wouldn’t mind. 

If she was braver, she would have invited him to join her, but he hadn’t given her any sign that he was interested. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey looked in the bathroom mirror and saw that she was blushing. She hoped Ben would attribute that to how warm her shower was and not her embarrassment about facing him after having the thoughts she just had. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey exited the bathroom and saw Ben in the kitchen. 

He must have heard her open the bathroom door because he turned towards her. “I just boiled water. Do you like tea?”

“Sure,” Rey said. Tea wasn’t her favourite, but a hot drink sounded nice. “Do you have herbal tea?”

“I have peppermint.”

“Sounds good,” Rey said, walking over to the couch. 

She checked her phone and there were no new messages from Finn or Poe. They must have been having a good time. 

Ben put her tea on his coffee table and sat across from her on his armchair. He had his own tea. 

Rey grabbed her tea and her robe fell off her shoulder. She pulled her robe back into place and looked over at Ben. 

He was staring at her. 

Ben must have been judging her for wearing something so summery. Or maybe he thought she was trying too hard to impress him. She didn’t let herself consider that he might like what he saw. That was her overactive imagination and nothing else.

They drank their tea together without much talking. It wasn’t a comfortable silence, but she wasn’t sure what she should say or what he was thinking. She was in his space and didn’t want to bother him. 

“Do whatever it is you usually do. I don’t want to be in your way.”

“You’re not!”

“Do you have an extra pillow and some blankets?” Rey asked. “Your couch is pretty comfortable, so I should have a good night’s sleep.”

“You can sleep in my bed,” Ben said.

Rey’s eyes widened.

“No! I didn’t mean, uh… I’ll take the couch.”

“It’s your place," Rey said. "I’m not taking your bed–”

“I insist–”

“There’s no _way_ you’ll fit on this couch,” Rey said, looking between the couch and Ben. It was big enough for her, but nowhere near big enough for him. “You’re taking the bed.”

“You’re more stubborn than me, aren’t you?” Ben ran his hand through his hair.

Rey grinned. “Most definitely.”

🍃🍂🍃

After Ben made sure she had everything she needed, he went to his bedroom.

She didn’t think he was sleeping – it wasn’t that late – so it was likely that he wanted to get away from her. Was he uncomfortable having her here? He seemed more tense in his own place than he had in hers. 

Not tired enough to sleep, Rey messaged Rose. 

Rose Tico  
  
**Today** 10:03 PM  
**Rey:** I need a 2nd opinion.  
  
**Today** 10:05 PM  
**Rose:** Sure. Hit me.   
  
**Today** 10:06 PM  
**Rey:** My heat's not working, so I'm staying at my neighbour's.  
  
**Rey:** Everything was fine, but then it got awkward and he went to his room.  
  
**Rey:** Is he hiding? 😓  
  
**Today** 10:11 PM  
**Rose:** Is this the neighbour you have a crush on? 🤣  
  


Rey already regretted texting Rose. And telling her about her morning runs and how she sometimes ran into Ben.

Finn wouldn't have given her such a hard time.

Rose Tico  
  
**Today** 10:15 PM  
**Rey:** I don't have a crush on him!  
  
**Today** 10:18 PM  
**Rose:** So it is him! You should go join him in his bedroom.  
  
**Today** 10:19 PM  
**Rey:** You're not helping!  
  
**Today** 10:20 PM  
**Rose:** Share his bed.  
  
**Rose:** Keep each other warm. 😘  
  
**Today** 10:21 PM  
**Rey:** Ugh.  
  
**Today** 10:22 PM  
**Rose:** I love you too. 💋  
  
**Rose:** Use protection!🍆🍑  
  


Rey threw her phone down. She _definitely_ should have texted Finn instead. 

BB-8 looked comfortable lounging on Ben’s armchair. 

Rey turned off the rest of the lights and laid on the couch. She always had a hard time falling asleep in unfamiliar spaces.

Texting Rose hadn't made it any _easier._ She kept thinking about Ben and how he would react if she knocked on his bedroom door... something she would never do. 

_I shouldn't be thinking about this._

Rey closed her eyes.

🍃🍂🍃

"Fuck!" Rey shouted.

Ben ran out of his room and turned on a light. He was wearing his boxers and nothing else. 

She’d been right when she imagined that his muscles were well defined. He looked like he spent a lot of time at the gym, and it paid off. 

"Are you okay?" he asked. 

"I'm fine,” Rey said, rubbing her thigh. “I just bumped into the coffee table.” It had sharp edges.

“Good. Is there anything I–”

Rey cut him off. “Sorry for waking you up." 

“Don’t worry about it," Ben said, waving off her apology. "I’ll see you in the morning.”

Rey swallowed. "Goodnight."

Ben turned around, and Rey watched him walk back into his room. She was relieved to get some distance between them. Rey wasn't usually this easily flustered. 

She turned off the light and went back to the couch.

Rey silently screamed into her pillow. 


	3. The Second Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Mentions of foster care and unhappy childhoods.

In the morning Rey should have talked to Ben, thanked him for letting her stay over, and moved on from their awkward run-in the night before.

That's what she _should_ have done.

Instead, she woke up incredibly early, left a note, and went to work. 

* * *

Thanks for letting me (and BB-8🐈) stay over! You saved us from freezing.

I put out BB-8's food and water. I’ll also pick up the new filter on my way home from work. See you then!

~Rey

It wasn't a brave choice.

🍃🍂🍃

Work was quiet when Rey arrived. She was the only person in her department there so early, which meant she got a lot done. It gave her the chance to review the costs of the Halloween fundraiser, and she was relieved to confirm that she was under budget.

Rey was much less productive once Rose arrived at work. The knowing looks she kept giving Rey made it difficult to concentrate. She found her mind wandering back to the night before – how helpful Ben had been and how much of a mess she had been. 

Maybe it hadn't been as bad as she remembered?

Rey asked Rose for her opinion once they went to the break room for a coffee break. 

"So you _didn't_ follow your neighbour into his room?" Rose leaned forward, resting her forearms on the beige circular table. The break room wasn't large, but they had some privacy at their table. It was beside the large whiteboard calendar, which was further away from the fridge than the other tables. 

Rey raised her eyebrows. "Did you think I would?"

"No," Rose said, smiling slightly, "but it would have been nice if you had taken a risk – put yourself out there." She took a sip of her coffee.

Rey crossed her arms. "I take risks." She had moved across the country for college, leaving everything she knew behind. Not that there was a lot of _good_ to leave behind. 

"You do," Rose agreed. She pointed at the countdown to the Halloween fundraiser on the calendar. "You take risks with your job, but not with your personal life."

Rey looked down at her coffee, unable to maintain eye contact with Rose. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It doesn't have to be," Rose said, her voice soft, "but I worry that you're missing out."

Rey bit her lip. Rose wasn't the first person to tell her this. She knew that she was closed off and that she kept most people at a distance. 

Finn was the first person she let in, and for a long time, he was enough.

But now Finn had Poe, and seeing their relationship made Rey want something like it for herself. 

Rey looked up at Rose. "I like Ben," she admitted.

"Then you'll need to do something tonight," Rose said, grinning widely.

Rey had a sip of her coffee and winced at the taste. It had cooled down, and the work coffee was only drinkable when it was just shy of too hot. "I'm not sneaking into his bed."

"You don't need to," Rose said. "Just tell Ben you like him." 

Rey exhaled slowly. "That's what I was afraid you'd say." She rubbed her neck. It didn't like the the angle she slept on it last last.

"What's so hard about telling Ben you like him?" Rose asked.

"He might not like me back," Rey said, slumping down into her chair. 

Rose wrinkled her brow. "And if he doesn't?" 

"We're neighbours," Rey said. If he rejected her, she would have to keep seeing him. It wasn't like she was going to _move._ "It would be awkward."

Rose snorted. "You've been neighbours for months and you've only seen each other a handful of times. You _just_ learned his name. I think you'll be fine."

"You _may_ have a point," Rey said. 

Though her hesitation was about _more_ than just the possibility of future awkwardness. Even before they talked, there was something in her that recognized something in Ben. She’d felt a lot of empathy for him when she noticed the dark circles under his eyes. It had reminded her of how she had been in college, working and studying and barely sleeping. 

"You shouldn't sound so surprised," Rose said with a half-shrug and a playful grin. "I'm _always_ right."

Rey laughed. "No, you aren't."

Rose gave her a look of mock offence. "Name _one_ time I was wrong."

Rey smiled. "You think Beaumont is into Kaydel."

"He is! He smiles at her, and they are _always_ whispering together."

Rey shook her head. "He has a boyfriend."

"That doesn't prove anything," Rose said, waving off Rey's point. 

"Maybe not," Rey said, "but I overheard them a few times, and I can confirm that they were whispering about Beaumont's boyfriend."

"Ah." Rose sighed heavily. "So I was wrong _once."_

Rey tilted her head. "You were also wrong about–"

"That's enough for today," Rose said, cutting her off. 

"You aren't _always_ right."

"I'm not," Rose agreed. She gave Rey a more serious look. "I hope you think about what I said. You won't know unless you try."

Rey nodded. "I'll think about it."

🍃🍂🍃

For the rest of her workday, Rey kept glancing at the time. Her heart rate increased every time she thought about seeing Ben again. She'd considered what Rose said, but she hadn't decided whether she would say anything to him or not. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey paced and rubbed her hands together in an effort to stay warm. 

The cold snap was still going strong, and she was stuck outside waiting for her next bus. Instead of her regular one bus commute, she needed to make a detour on the way home to pick up the new filter for her heater. That meant she needed to take two buses to the store and then one bus home. 

She was starting to regret offering to pick it up herself. 

Ben probably had a car. She couldn’t picture him in his expensive suits taking the bus.

And now she was picturing what he looked like _under_ his suits. Her mind had been replaying that moment all day. She wasn’t going to forget how he looked without a shirt anytime soon. 

Rey let out a relieved sigh. The next bus had arrived and she was close enough to the front of the line to get a seat. 

Finally, _something_ had gone right. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey bit her lip. There were more filter options in the store than she had anticipated. 

She opened up the picture of the one she needed on her phone and narrowed her options down to two. As far as she could tell, the only difference between the two boxes was that one had green writing and the other had blue writing. 

The picture on her phone looked bluish green, which was not particularly helpful. They were both a MERV 6, so Rey guessed either would fit.

She opened her phone contacts, intending to text Ben to ask for clarification, but she realized that they hadn’t exchanged numbers. Neither of them had suggested it last night.

She should have gotten his number in the morning, or she should have at least added her number to the note she left. 

She hadn't been thinking clearly.

Rey decided to go for the box with the green writing. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey went into her apartment and put the filter down. 

It wasn’t any warmer inside her apartment than it had been outside. It could have been her imagination, but somehow it felt even colder. 

She hadn’t even asked Ben when he would be home, so she didn’t know when he would be able to replace the filter. She would have to find somewhere else to wait if he wasn’t home. 

Rey went into the hallway and knocked on his door. 

🍃🍂🍃

Ben opened the door and smiled at Rey. He had BB-8 in his arms, and she was purring. Like the night before, he had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, which was a light grey. His tie was gone and his top button was undone. He looked good.

"Is now a good time for you to fix my heat?" Rey asked. 

"Sure," Ben said. "You take Beebee, and I'll grab my tools." He passed the cat to Rey. 

Rey held BB-8 and scratched her under her chin.

Ben came back with his toolbox, which didn't look like what she would have imagined. Instead of it being new and sleek, it was a slightly battered looking old green toolbox. 

He must have noticed her attention because he answered her unasked question. "It used to belong to my dad."

Rey nodded. There was a story there that she wanted to know, but she didn't think she had the right to pry. If he wanted to tell her, he would. 

Rey let Ben back into her apartment.

"You can wait at my place," Ben offered. "I know you don’t like the cold.”

Rey shook her head. “I’d like to see how you fix this.”

Ben raised his eyebrows. “You don’t trust me?”

“No!” Rey’s eyes widened. “I’d like to learn how to change the filter. I _like_ being able to do things like this myself.”

Ben nodded. “Do you want to help?”

“That would be great,” Rey said, smiling. She picked up the filter – which was a little awkward while holding BB-8 – and passed it to Ben. 

He frowned. 

Rey’s stomach sank. “What’s wrong?” 

“This is the wrong size.”

“It’s the one you told me to get," Rey said. She brought up the picture on her phone. “See.”

Ben looked at the picture and shook his head. “That’s a different filter." 

Rey pinched her brows together and compared the picture to the filter she bought. “But they both say MERV 6?”

“MERV tells us how efficient the filter is not the size," Ben explained. "It won't fit.”

“Can you try it?” she asked, rubbing her neck. "There were only two filters in the store with this packaging, and they both were the same size.” Rey hoped that the filter she bought would work. 

Ben shook his head. “The packaging may have been the same size, but you need a 16x20 inch filter.” He pointed at the small writing on the bottom corner of the box. “This is a 16x25 inch filter.”

“And you’re _sure_ it won’t fit.”

Ben nodded. “Sorry.”

Rey sighed. “It’s not your fault.” She looked down at the picture on her phone, and she showed it to Ben again. “What colour is this?”

“Blue,” he said without hesitation.

She had gone with green. “I’ll exchange this for the blue one tomorrow,” Rey said, waving at the filter. She put BB-8 on her bed and sat next to her. 

This was not how she'd thought this evening would go. Petting BB-8's silky fur helped calm her nerves. 

“You can stay over again tonight,” Ben offered. 

“No,” Rey said. This was her mistake. “I can get a hotel.” 

“Beebee’s stuff is already at my place," Ben said.

Rey snorted. "She doesn't have that much stuff."

"For a cat she does," Ben said dryly. "And she likes my chair. You should come over.” 

“Are you sure?” Rey didn't want to inconvenience him. 

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.”

“Thank you,” Rey said. It would be nice to spend more time with Ben.

🍃🍂🍃

“Have you eaten?” Ben asked, closing the door behind him. 

Rey shook her head. She hadn’t.

“Do you like pasta?”

Rey put BB-8 down, and she ran to her favourite chair. “You don’t have to cook.” 

“I need to eat,” Ben said, shrugging. “Might as well make enough to share.”

“Pasta sounds great,” Rey said. “How can I help?”

“Can you make a salad?” he asked. 

She could manage a salad. “Show me what you have.”

🍃🍂🍃

Ben started grabbing ingredients from his fridge. “Do you like mushrooms?”

“I do,” Rey said, rubbing her neck. “What type of pasta are you going to make?” He had already put ground beef and a red pepper on the counter. 

“I was thinking of making a bolognese.” Ben took out the mushrooms. “Take a look at what I have and make any type of salad you like.” He started chopping an onion. 

Rey opened the fridge door. She took out arugula, carrots, and cherry tomatoes. A salad was something she could make easily enough. There was no actual _cooking_ involved. 

Rey remembered what Poe said about salad dressing. She needed to mix something acidic with something sweet or spicy. Rey found balsamic vinegar and dijon mustard, which would do nicely. “Do you have honey?”

“In this cupboard,” Ben said, pointing at the cupboard beside the fridge. He was cooking onion, red pepper, and mushrooms. He must have also added garlic because the pasta sauce already smelled better than the jarred pasta sauce she usually used. 

Her mouth watered. 

Rey took out the honey and noticed he had pumpkin seeds. “Can I use these?” she asked. 

Ben looked over at what she was holding and nodded. “Yes, you can use anything.” He added ground beef and some herbs to his frying pan. 

Rey washed and dried the vegetables. They had gotten into a sort of rhythm. Ben showed her where things were, while he was cooking, and she prepped the salad. It was nicer to make food with someone else than to make it by herself. 

_I would cook more if I had someone to cook with._

She was impressed that he knew what he was doing.

“Where did you learn to cook?”

“My grandmother taught me,” he said. “I was often at my grandparents’ place when my dad was away and my mom was working.”

“That sounds nice.”

“It was.” Ben gave her a small smile that brought her attention to his dimples. “She told me that she’d made a mistake by not teaching my mom to cook. She was determined that I would learn.”

Rey could picture a young Ben in the kitchen, watching intently as his grandmother taught him how to use a knife. 

None of Rey’s foster parents taught her to cook. “My friend Poe has taught me to cook a few meals.” She halved the cherry tomatoes. 

“It’s never too late to learn,” Ben said. “I would be happy to teach you.”

“I would like that.” Rey imagined visiting Ben after work and cooking together. He could also come to her place and she could cook for him, showing him what she learned.

Rey cut the carrots into matchsticks, careful not to cut herself. His knives were a lot sharper than hers, which made cutting them easier than she was used to. 

Ben poured a bit of red wine into the pasta sauce. “Would you like some?” he asked, holding out the bottle, so she could see what type it was. 

Not that she would know the difference. When she had wine, it was whatever was on sale. She guessed this was a more expensive bottle than what her or her friends would buy, but all the label told her was that the wine was from Alderaan, which was somewhere she dreamed of visiting. 

“Sure,” Rey agreed. After the last couple days, wine sounded nice. 

He poured two glasses and passed her one. 

Rey took a sip. It was a dryer red than she was used to, but she didn’t mind. 

She put the glass down and whisked together the balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, olive oil, and honey. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey had her first bite of pasta. “This is really good,” she said. 

“Thank you.” Ben smiled and took a bite of the salad. “I like this dressing.”

It may have been Rey’s imagination, but this dinner felt like a date. Except unlike her most recent dates, she was enjoying herself. 

She had another sip of wine, and found that the dryness was growing on her. It paired well with the pasta. 

"What do you do for work?" Rey asked. She's often wondered what got him up so early and made him look so tired.

"I'm an accountant," Ben said. 

"Do you like it?"

Ben hesitated. “Now that I’ve started a new job, it’s better.”

“Oh," Rey said. She knew what it was like to dislike your job, and she was so much happier now that she'd found somewhere she liked to work. "When did you change jobs?”

“Last week," Ben said, running his hand through his hair. "I used to work for First Order Financial, and I _hated_ it.”

“How long did you work there?”

Ben grimaced. “Eight years.”

Rey’s eyes widened. 

“It was my first job out of school," Ben explained. "Actually, if you count my co-op, I worked there even longer.”

“Why did you stay for so long?”

Ben shrugged. “I didn’t think I had any other options." He swallowed. "Snoke, my boss, has a lot of sway. I knew if I left, he’d do everything in his power to blacklist me.”

“But that didn’t happen,” Rey said, leaning forward.

“No, it did,” Ben said, clenching his jaw. “I’m working for my mom now.”

“Your mom’s also an accountant?”

“No, she runs a charitable organization – The Resistance – I help with their books.”

“Oh, I know them! We’ve worked with them on some projects.”

“Where do you work?” Ben asked.

“The Spark. It’s a charitable organization that focuses on–”

“You work for Amilyn?”

Rey's lips parted. “You know her?” 

Ben nodded. “She’s been friends with my mom for as long as I can remember.”

“Small world,” Rey said, smiling. 

Ben smiled back. “How long have you been working there?”

“Since the summer, and it’s everything I want out of a job," Rey said, getting more animated. "It's an opportunity to do some good.”

“I’ve never had that same drive.”

“It must have taken a lot of work to get where you are.”

“It did," Ben agreed. "I spent years of my life chasing promotions, working for more money, but never tried to do anything _good.”_

“But you’re working for your mom now,” Rey said, rubbing her neck. It was still sore. "The Resistance does good work."

“Only because I didn’t have any other options." Ben looked away. "We were estranged for years.”

“That must have been lonely,” Rey said softly.

“It was, but I was lonely long before the estrangement," Ben said, crossing his arms. His face was incredibly expressive. She could tell how much this still affected him. "My parents were rarely around, and I was a difficult child." He lowered his voice. "They sent me to live with my uncle who worked with troubled youth, and that didn’t go well.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that," Rey said. She knew what it was like to feel like you weren't wanted. "What did your uncle do?”

“He ran an alternative school, which I went to," Ben said. He looked at Rey. "I didn’t make any connections there.”

“I went to an alt school too.”

Ben had a sip of wine. “You did?”

“I grew up in foster care," Rey said, swallowing, "and I lashed out a lot – ran away a few times.”

“You must think I’m selfish for cutting my family out of my life.”

Rey shook her head. “No, I spent years believing my family would come back for me, but they never did," she shared. "Some of my foster parents had good intentions, but I never connected with them. I know that it takes more than good intentions to feel like a family.”

“I know _now_ that my parents loved me, but I still have a hard time believing it. They sent me away, and that’s not something I can forget.”

“When I went to college, I met Finn," Rey said. That had been one of the best things to happen in her life. _"He’s_ my family now.”

"I’m glad you have him,” Ben said.

“I have a good group of friends now, but other than Finn, I’ve had a hard time opening up,” Rey admitted.

“You have?" Ben asked. "You’re doing fine now.”

Rey smiled. “You’re easy to talk to.”

“So are you,” he said. 

Rey felt a shifting feeling near her heart. "How did you end up switching jobs and reconnecting with your family?”

“For the longest time, my entire life was wrapped up in First Order Financial. I practically lived there. There was a massive complex with everything you needed. Restaurants and cafes for meetings, a grocery store, a gym–”

“Is that why you always went to work so early?” Rey asked. 

“I usually went to the office first thing in the morning because it was a competition to be the first one there and the last to leave." Ben rested his forearms on the table. "My main rival, Hux, did everything he could do to sabotage me, and I did the same to him.”

Rey leaned forward. “I’m glad you got out.”

“I almost didn’t.”

“What changed?”

“My dad," Ben said, looking away. "He was in a motorcycle accident, and I missed the call because I was at work. He’s fine now, but he almost wasn’t. I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t recovered…”

Rey put her hand on his arm. “He did.”

Ben looked at Rey. “That’s how I knew I needed to make a change. My parents had been reaching out for years, but I ignored them. My dad’s accident showed me that I had to try.”

“That must have been difficult,” Rey said. 

“It was, but in a way – as awful as it sounds – I’m glad it happened like that. Without that realization, I’d still be miserable at First Order.”

“It doesn’t sound awful," Rey said. "You aren’t glad your dad’s accident happened. You’re glad you had that wake up call."

Ben nodded. 

"I'm glad too," Rey said. "You look so much less tired.”

“It wasn’t just the hours. It was how empty my life was.”

Rey squeezed Ben's arm, “Your life doesn’t have to be empty.”

He smiled. “I know that now.”

🍃🍂🍃

Rey’s phone vibrated, and she looked down at it. “Sorry, it’s Poe.”

“Don’t worry about it, Ben said. He stood up and grabbed the salad bowl. "I need to clean up.”

"I can help–”

“No need," Ben said, walking towards the kitchen. "There’s very few dishes, and most of them can go in the dishwasher. Answer your friend.”

Poe Dameron  
  
**Today** 7:54 PM  
**Poe:** How’s BB doing? Are you treating her well?  
  
**Today** 7:57 PM  
**Rey:** She’s good.  
  
**Today** 7:58 PM  
**Poe:** send proof 📸  
  


Rey laughed and shook her head. 

Ben looked up. “What’s so funny?” he asked. He’d cleared the table and was washing the frying pan. 

“He’s fishing for cat pictures.” Rey walked over to BB-8 and took a picture of her. 

Rey sent the picture to Poe. 

Seconds later Rey’s phone vibrated. This time it wasn’t Poe. 

Finn Storm  
  
**Today** 8:03 PM  
**Finn:** That's not your apartment  
**Finn:** Where are you?  
  
**Today** 8:07 PM  
**Rey:** My neighbour’s.   
  


“Does Poe want more pictures?” Ben asked.

“No, Finn noticed I wasn’t at home," Rey said. "I’m telling him why I’m staying with you.”

Finn Storm  
  
**Today** 8:10 PM  
**Finn:**?????  
  
**Today** 8:13 PM  
**Rey:** I’m staying with him until my heat’s fixed.  
  
**Today** 8:15 PM  
**Finn:** You could stay at our place.  
**Finn:** Our building manager can let you in.  
  
**Today** 8:16 PM  
**Rey:** It’s fine

“Is everything okay?” Ben asked.

“Yes, he’s just sorry to hear my place had no heat.”

Finn Storm  
  
**Today** 8:21 PM  
**Finn:** Wait  
  
**Finn:** Is this the early morning work neighbour? 🤔  
  
**Today** 8:22 PM  
**Rey:**...yes?   
  
**Today** 8:23 PM  
**Finn:** Text me in the morning 😉  
  


Rey’s face heated up. She hoped Ben didn’t notice. 

🍃🍂🍃

Ben joined Rey on the couch. 

“What do you do for fun?” she asked.

Ben snorted. “What’s fun?”

Rey tilted her head. “Are you serious?”

“Sort of," Ben said dryly. "I’ve only recently started to have time for fun.”

Rey leaned towards him. “So how have you been spending your time?”

“Mostly staying home," Ben said, shifting closer. "I’ve been doing a lot of reading, and cooking more.”

“I don’t do either of those things as much as I should,” Rey admitted.

“There’s no should," Ben said. "What do you like to do?”

“I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts," Rey said. Truthfully, work took up a lot of her time. "I spend time with my friends.”

“I don’t have those,” Ben said.

Rey furrowed her brows.

“Friends,” Ben clarified. “Everyone I knew at First Order stopped talking to me when I left. Not that they were really my friends.”

“Well, you’ll just have to make new friends,” Rey said.

Ben looked away. “I don’t remember how to do that.”

“I’ll be your friend,” Rey said.

Ben looked back at Rey. “Really?”

“Yeah, I like spending time with you," Rey said, her heart speeding up. "I want to get to know you better.”

Ben's arm brushed against hers. “I’d like that.”

🍃🍂🍃

Rey and Ben talked for hours. 

It turned out that they had more in common than their shared loneliness. She found out that he also used to box, and they made plans to spar together. 

They were also both big Galaxy Wars fans. He was more of a fan of the Original Trilogy, and she preferred the Prequel Trilogy, but they were both disappointed by the recent Sequel Trilogy. 

“The whole point of the series was redemption and overcoming obstacles,” Ben said emphatically. His eyes were lit up with a passion she hadn’t seen before. “The new movies turned their back on those ideals.”

“I agree,” Rey said, happy to have found someone as into the Galaxy Wars movies as she was. All her friends had seen the movies, but months after they came out, none of them cared to talk about them anymore. “But they had potential. If they had tied up some of the plots they introduced in the first two movies, the third could have been good.”

Ben shook his head. “The movies were doomed to failure from the beginning. A large corporation isn’t going to make a meaningful movie about a rebellion. The message would go against its corporate interests.”

“That’s why I like the prequels so much," Rey said. "They were more overtly political than the first trilogy.”

Ben looked skeptical. “The acting wasn’t great.”

“I blame the CGI,” Rey said. 

Ben raised his eyebrows. “Not the dialogue?”

Rey tried to hold back a yawn. It was getting late, but she wanted to keep talking to Ben.

“When do you have to go to work tomorrow?”

“Earlier than I would like,” Rey said.

“You should take the bed.”

Rey shook her head. “We went over this last night.”

“I can see that you didn’t sleep well," Ben said. "You’ve been rubbing your neck all night.” 

“You noticed?”

“I did," Ben confirmed. "I'll take the couch and you'll–”

Rey cut him off. “We can share.” The words left her mouth before She thought them through and now she couldn't take them back.

Ben’s eyebrows shot up.

“I mean–”

“That works,” he said, interrupting her. Ben’s cheeks were slightly pink. 

Instead of sneaking into his bed, she had invited herself, and he had agreed. 

Rose would be proud.

🍃🍂🍃

Rey had the same sleep set she wore the night before. Suddenly aware of how much skin she was showing, the hair on her arms rose. 

She was disappointed to see that Ben was wearing more clothes than he had the night before. He was wearing dark grey boxers and a faded black t-shirt. 

“Do you have a side?” Rey asked. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Ben said. He wasn't looking at her.

Rey got into bed on the same side as the window. 

Ben got into bed beside her, making his queen sided bed feel small. He took up a lot of space, and Rey was hyper-aware of every centimeter between them. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey was warm and content. Her face was resting on a firm pillow, and she was wrapped up in a strong set of arms. She felt safe in a way she wasn’t used to. 

She opened her eyes. Rey had moved to Ben’s side of the bed and was using his chest as a pillow, and he was holding her close. 

Rey thought about detangling herself from him to avoid an awkward morning, but she liked being in his arms, so she didn’t move. She let the steady rise and fall of his chest lull her back to sleep.   
  



	4. The Third Night

Rey woke up before her alarm went off. 

She was sprawled on top of Ben, and his hand had moved to her hip. She resisted the urge to snuggle in closer to him. It had been a long time since she last shared a bed with someone. 

Rey forced herself to move away from him. She sat up slowly, enjoying their closeness while it lasted, and he moved towards her in his sleep, his leg brushing against hers. 

Ben's face looked so relaxed and boyish when he slept, and it turned out that his hair wasn't always perfect. It was a tangled mess that somehow added to his boyish charm. She wanted to run her hands through his hair to make even more of a mess of it.

 _I have it bad,_ Rey thought.

She decided she would do something nice for him and put on a pot of coffee – maybe make breakfast if she was feeling ambitious. 

🍃🍂🍃

Making coffee turned out to be more difficult than Rey had anticipated. She had been a barista, so a coffee maker _shouldn't_ have stumped her, but this machine looked like something out of a science lab.

She guessed the water went in the raised glass chamber and the ground coffee went in the brew basket beside it, but that was a _guess._

Rey decided to look up the instructions online. 

Her eyes widened when she looked at her phone. She had a lot of texts from Kaydel. 

Kaydel Ko Connix  
  
**Today** 5:50 AM  
**Kaydel :** Sorry to contact you so early! The venue for the fundraiser emailed me last night. They're pulling out.  
**Kaydel:** I know the venue was my responsibility, but I don't know what to do.  
**Kaydel:** I'm going in early to see if anywhere else has openings.  
**Poe:** Sorry! 😓  


Rey's grip on her phone tightened. She re-read the texts, hoping she had misread them. 

She hadn't. 

Rey inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Kaydel Ko Connix  
  
**Today** 6:07 AM  
**Rey:** I'll be at work soon.   


Looks like she wasn't making coffee or breakfast. 

She left Ben a note. 

* * *

Have to go into work early again. Minor emergency with the project I'm working on! Don't know how long it will take to fix.

See you tonight.

~Rey

Just before she opened the door, she walked back to the note and added her number. Rey still didn't have his, but at least Ben could contact her.

🍃🍂🍃

A paper bag was dropped on Rey's desk. She tore her eyes away from her computer screen and saw Rose. 

"I got you a sandwich from the place you like," Rose said, leaning against Rey's desk. "You've been working non-stop since this morning." 

Rey opened the bag. "Dax's?" she asked, seeing the familiar wrapper. Rey took the sandwich out of the bag. "You're the best."

"Thank me by taking a break _away_ from your desk," Rose said, nodding in the direction of the break room. 

Rey hesitated. They had found two potential venues, but they were both much more expensive than the original. She had to make sure the budget would cover it. 

_"Please,"_ Rose said, her voice raising in pitch and her eyes widening slightly. "You don't have to take a long break."

Rey sighed. "Alright, you've convinced me." It was too difficult to argue with Rose when she looked at her like that.

Rose stifled a laugh. "You don't need to sound so miserable about it," she said dryly.

"I"m not," Rey tried to explain, "I'm just–"

"You've got this," Rose said, placing her hand on Rey's shoulder. "And you don't have to do it all on your own. There's a whole team here who has your back."

Rey gave Rose a strained half-smile. She appreciated the support, but after so many years relying on herself, she found it difficult to accept.

🍃🍂🍃

The first bite of her sandwich was pure bliss. Dax's made a roasted vegetable sandwich with goat cheese and balsamic that she always ordered whenever she went there. Rey first discovered the sandwich when Amilyn ordered Dax's for the office.

Rose took a bite of her own sandwich. It looked like she went for the prosciutto sandwich, which while good, was no roasted vegetable and goat cheese sandwich.

Rey wasn’t going to admit it to Rose, but she was glad she was taking a break. She had started making silly errors, so hopefully after some food she would have an easier time getting things done. 

She finished her sandwich in record time, not because she was in a rush or starving, but because it was so good. 

"Are you ready to tell me about yesterday?" Rose asked. 

Rey folded her sandwich wrapper. "I don't know what you mean,” she said, averting her eyes. 

“Yes, you do,” Rose said. 

Rey thought about denying it, but Rose knew her too well. “Okay, I do,” she agreed. “But there’s not much to tell.”

 _“Much,"_ Rose said pointedly. "That means there's _something._ Did you tell him you like him?”

She’d considered it, but it had never felt like the right time. Once they got talking, she had been so caught up in the moment, she hadn’t been thinking about anything other than enjoying their time together. Rose was looking at her expectantly. “No,” Rey answered.

_“Rey.”_

“But we talked,” Rey said, defending herself, “we really talked – about so many things, topics I rarely open up about, and I think it was the same for him – for hours.” There had also been some lighthearted conversation. “We have a lot in common.” She found herself smiling at the memory of them making plans to spar together after they discovered that they both box.

Whatever happened next, she was certain they would spend more time together. 

“You must really like him,” Rose said in a soft voice. 

Rey bit her lip. “I think I do.”

“I’m proud of you,” Rose said, which surprised Rey. She had thought Rose was disappointed she didn’t say anything to Ben about her feelings. 

Rose must have picked up on Rey's doubts because she continued, “Even though you didn’t share your feelings with him, you opened up to him. That’s a good first step.”

“I hope so.”

Rose’s smile turned wicked. “Too bad nothing happened.”

“Well…”

Rose’s eyes widened. _“Spill.”_

Rey looked around to see if any of their colleagues were listening in. Seeing that they were mostly engrossed in their phones or eating, Rey leaned forward to answer. “I may have invited myself into his bed,” she said in a hushed voice. 

_“Impressive.”_ Rose leaned forward, mirroring Rey’s posture. “Tell me more.”

Rey sat back and shrugged. “That’s it.”

Rose narrowed her eyes. “Really?”

Rey's face heated up. “There may have been some cuddling.” 

“That's sickeningly sweet,” Rose said.

🍃🍂🍃

Rey stretched in her chair. They had found a venue and sent the promotional materials out to be reprinted, so the workday and workweek was finally over. She was so glad to leave earlier than she had anticipated on a Friday, and it was because of Kaydel's help.

She pulled out her phone to look up the bus schedule. She needed to exchange the filter before she went home. 

There was a text from an unknown number.

Unknown  
  
**Today** 5:09 PM  
**Ben :** I'll get the filter on my way home.  
**Today** 5:13 PM  
**Rey:** I can get it. I'm off work now.  
**Rey:** Have to return the filter anyway  
**Today** 5:15 PM  
**Ben :** I'm almost at the store. I'll drive you to return the other filter tomorrow.  
**Today** 5:18 PM  
**Rey:** Thank you 😊  


Rey smiled at her phone. 

🍃🍂🍃

Once Rey was on her floor, she went to Ben’s door instead of her own and knocked. She hoped he was home. 

Ben opened the door seconds after she knocked, almost like he had been waiting for her to arrive. “Hi,” he shyly. 

“Hi,” Rey said back, taking in his all black suit. It should have been a severe look – and it often had been when she had seen him on those rare mornings, wearing similar outfits – but he wasn’t wearing a jacket, and his tie was loosened, and his sleeves were rolled up, which made him look more relaxed. “Thanks for picking up the filter.”

“The note you left made it sound like you were about to have a difficult day,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “It was one way I could make things easier for you.”

“Well,” Rey said, leading him to her apartment, “it did.”

🍃🍂🍃

Ben put down the filter and his green toolbox. “You said you wanted to learn how to fix it?”

“Yes,” Rey confirmed. “You don’t think I’m up for it?”

“Oh, I _do._ Step one is buying the right filter,” Ben said, picking up the filter, “and step two is opening the box.” He started opening it. 

Rey crossed her arms and glared. “I figured.”

Ben took out the filter, slowly, making a show of every step.

“Do you think you could speed this up?” Rey asked. “I think I’m a more advanced student than you’re used to.”

“You must be,” Ben agreed. “The last person I showed how to change one of these filters was Luke, and he _obviously_ needed more lessons.”

“Or maybe you’re not a great teacher,” Rey said, grinning at the offended look on his face.

“There’s that too.” Ben walked over to her closet and opened the door. “The filter goes in here,” he said, showing her how to open the panel in the wall. 

When he removed the filter, she saw that it looked pretty worn and must have been a lot older than it should have been. Ben put the old filter on the ground. 

Then he showed her how to put the new filter in. It wasn’t as straightforward as just popping it in, but it did look incredibly easy. 

“That’s it?” Rey asked. She could have figured it out on her own if she had known what was wrong. 

“That’s it,” Ben confirmed. He walked over to the thermostat and pointed. “Do you want the honours?” 

Rey set the heat to a comfortably warm temperature, and heard the distinctive clicking sound that sometimes accompanied the heat in older buildings. It was a beautiful sound. 

She turned to face Ben and thank him, and she found him much closer than she had expected. 

Rey decided to be brave. 

She wrapped her arms around him for a quick hug. “Thank you.”

She leaned back and saw that Ben was staring at her. He looked slightly flushed. 

"Since it's still cold here, do you want to come over to my place for a bit?" he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "We could have more pasta."

Rey couldn't think of anything that sounded better. "I'd like that."

 _"Good,"_ he said in a low voice that sent shivers down Rey's spine. 

🍃🍂🍃

As soon as Ben opened the door, BB-8 greeted them and brushed against Rey’s legs. BB-8’s friendliness was one of the reasons Rey liked her so much. 

Rey picked up BB-8, and Ben scratched the cat behind her ears, and she started purring. He had made a good impression on BB-8 as well.

“Are you hungry?” Ben asked. 

Rey shook her head. “Not yet.”

“How about some wine?”

“Sure,” she said, thinking some liquid courage might help her share her feelings with Ben. 

“I have another bottle of the same red we had last night, but I also have a sweeter white wine.”

“Let’s try the white.”

Rey sat on the couch and put BB-8 down next to her. The cat moved to the chair she had claimed as her own the first night she stayed here. 

Ben came over with two glasses of wine and handed one to Rey. “Cheers,” he said, clinking his glass against hers. 

“Cheers,” she said back, taking a sip and tasting a hint of grapefruit. This wine was more her speed. She put the wine down on the coffee table. “Beebee likes your chair so much, I don’t know if she’ll leave.”

Ben sat next to her. “I like having her around.”

“Have you ever had a cat?”

“No, I grew up with a dog, but my uncle has had the same cat forever – he’s going to outlive us all.” Ben had another sip of wine. “Have you ever had a pet?”

“No, never had the opportunity, and my lease doesn't allow pets.”

“If you want one, go for it. Luke will never notice,” Ben said, laughing in a way that showed off his dimples. “He’s never in town. This week is his meditation retreat, and who knows where he’ll be next week.”

“I thought your uncle worked at an alt school?”

“He ran it,” Ben said, tightening his grip on his glass, “but that didn’t go particularly well. He blamed me for disrupting the peace and causing problems, but the truth is that he was too young and inexperienced to run a school. He retired shortly after I left.”

“And he bought a building?”

“Among many other things. He moves from project to project and doesn’t stick around when things don’t go his way.”

Rey put her hand on Ben’s knee. “Do you think of yourself as one of those projects?”

“Sometimes,” he said, putting his hand on hers. It was so much larger than hers. “But that’s enough of talking about Luke. I want to learn more about you.”

Rey picked up her wine with her free hand. “There’s not much more to tell.” She had a sip. 

Ben shook his head. “I _highly_ doubt that.”

“I’m not sure where to start,” Rey said, scrunching her nose.

“Tell me about work today," he said, stroking her hand with his thumb, causing her to shiver. "How did you fix the emergency?”

“How do you know I fixed it?”

“You’re here,” he said, and there was something about his voice, a softness that made her feel like this was where she was meant to be right now. 

🍃🍂🍃

By the time Rey had finished talking about her job, they had shifted so that she was sitting cross-legged on the couch, and holding Ben’s hand in her lap. 

“I need to tell you something,” Rey said. 

Ben stiffened. 

“Nothing bad,” Rey continued, “or at least I hope it’s nothing bad.” She let go of his hand, and he leaned closer to her. 

“What is it?” Ben asked quietly. 

“I like you – kind of a lot and–”

“You do?” he asked, sounding skeptical, which made her hope she hadn't just made a huge mistake. 

“You’re surprised?” she asked, wondering how he hadn't noticed. She had thought her reaction to him – especially shirtless him – was incredibly obvious, and she had thought he was being considerate by not commenting on it. Had he not noticed?

“Yes!" Ben said. "You’re kind of hard to read. You disappeared every morning, which made me think I was reading you wrong – that you didn’t like me back–”

“Like you back?” she asked, cutting him off. “You like me?” Rey heard the smile in her voice, the same smile she couldn't keep off her face.

“I do,” he confirmed, his voice low. 

His voice did something to Rey, made her want to pull him closer, so she pulled him forward by his tie and kissed him. 

He froze for a moment and then he started kissing her back, deepening their kiss. 

Rey's pulse was racing. Their kiss was less practiced than she had imagined, but once they got into it, they figured it out. It had been a while since her last kiss, and now she wondered how long it had been for him. 

Ben nipped at her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth, enjoying the way his tongue traced hers. His hand made his way to her face, and he stroked her cheek in a way that she could only describe as reverent. 

Rey leaned back a bit, and his mouth followed hers. "So you do like me," she said against his lips.

"I can't believe you didn't notice," he said. "I couldn't keep my eyes off your legs when you wore those shorts. Sleeping next to you and not touching you was _torture."_

"Well, you did touch me."

He leaned back. "What?" His brows were wrinkled with confusion.

"We ended up cuddling a little," Rey explained, remembering how it felt to be so close to him.

"I wish I knew that," Ben said. "Is that why you disappeared in the morning? Did I make you uncomfortable."

"No! If anything, I thought I was a little _too_ comfortable." Rey swallowed. "I didn't think you were interested in me like that."

"We're both oblivious, aren't we?" he asked with a slight shake of his head.

"Not anymore," Rey said. She wanted to be closer to him, so she straddled his lap and pressed her lips against his. 

He let out a deep moan that sent sparks to her core. This kiss was more frantic and messier than their first. 

Rey put her hands in his hair, messing it up a bit, liking the way it felt between her fingers. She tugged it a bit harder than she meant, and he groaned. 

"Sorry," she whispered.

"I liked it," he said, and _oh,_ it was a good groan. His hand was stroking her lower back.

Without consciously making the decision to do so, Rey started rocking against him. Heat was pooling in her belly. 

Ben's breath hitched, and she felt that he was hard. 

Rey panted against his lips and rocked against his hard cock. She was already wet and so sensitive to the feel of him against her. She wanted to get closer to him, to feel his skin against hers. 

Rey took her hands out of his hair and undid his tie, throwing it beside him on the couch. She started unbuttoning his shirt, pressing her lips against his neck. 

Ben groaned and leaned his head back against the couch. "I can't believe you're _real,"_ he said.

Rey undid the last of his buttons, and he helped her by taking off his shirt and tossed in it to the side. She ran her hand down his chest. _"Me?"_ she asked, feeling the way he trembled beneath her touch. "I have been wanting to touch you for _months."_

 _"Me too,"_ he said, surprising her. "The first time I saw you in the hallway, I couldn't believe my eyes." He kissed her cheek, her jaw, and then her neck. "You were beautiful, but it was the way you smiled that stuck with me." He pulled her sweater aside and mouthed along her clavicle. "You seemed so _happy_ , and I wanted to be happy too," he said, looking up at her. 

"I felt something – a connection – the first time I saw you," Rey said seriously. "You seemed tired in a way that was so familiar to me."

"I was tired – so very tired."

"And now you're not?"

Ben gave her a crooked smile. "I'm getting there."

"Good," she said against his lips, rocking against him once more.

 _"Bedroom,"_ Ben said, moaning against her lips.

Rey nodded, and Ben stood up, holding her in his arms. She wrapped her legs around him, and he walked them to the bedroom, impressing her with his strength. 

He placed her on his bed and looked at her with hunger. "You're wearing too much."

Rey pulled her sweater over her head and dropped it on the floor. 

His eyes were on her chest. He placed his hands on her bra – it was a simple black bra, but she was glad she wore it because it did wonders for her cleavage. "Can I?" he asked – she nodded – and then he unclasped her bra.

Rey felt the cold air against her chest. She knew her nipples were hard. 

Ben took one nipple into his mouth and sucked, making her back arch. He ran his hands down her back as he moved his attention to her other breast. 

Rey moaned from the way he was touching her. She was more sensitive that she usually was and whether that was because of how long it had been or because of _him,_ she didn't know, but she wasn't complaining. 

Once she started coming undone, Ben dragged his lips down her stomach and rested his hands at the top of her leggings. 

"Take them off," she said. 

He made quick work of them, and stared at her, looking first at her face and then looking down her body, staring at her black thong. "I want to taste you," he said.

 _"Yes,"_ she moaned her agreement. 

Ben sunk down onto his knees and licked the thin fabric covering her core, teasing her.

Rey let out a high pitch whine, and leaned back on the bed. It was good, but it wasn't enough. She wanted _more._

Like he was reading her mind, he pushed her thong to the side and brushed his thumb against her clit, which made the muscles in her thighs spasm. "So wet," he said, smiling up at her. 

Ben licked her, and she pressed forward. He put his hand on her hips, stopping her movement and lapping at her centre. 

_"More,"_ she said, her voice breathy. 

Ben slowly pressed a finger inside her, and she clenched around it. It wouldn't take much more for him to push her over the edge. He pulled his finger out and then pushed it back in, finding a slow and steady rhythm. 

She felt the pressure build. 

Ben focused on her with an intensity that made her feel like the most important person in his world, like all he cared about was making her feel _good._ He sucked on her clit and her vision started to white out. He added a second finger and sucked on her clit again.

Words were coming out of her mouth between moans, but she didn't know what they were or if she was making any sense, but she needed to let him know how he was making her feel.

Ben curled his fingers, finding that spot in her that sent her over the edge. 

_"Ben,"_ she cried out as he sucked her clit as she continued to climax. Her orgasam came in waves, responding to the way he continued to touch her, feeling like she would continue to drift forever. 

The waves slowed down gradually, and Rey gently tugged at his hair when she became too sensitive.

He smiled up at her, his eyes shining. "Good?" he asked, licking his bottom lip, tasting her.

"You _know_ it was," Rey said, breathing heavily. 

He laid next to her on the bed, and she curled into his warmth. 

Once her breathing slowed down, Rey looked over at him and her attention was drawn to his tented pants. "You should take off the rest of your clothes," she ordered, her voice husky.

Ben grinned, and he stared at her as he undid the buttons of his pants and slowly pushed his pants and then his boxers briefs down.

Rey brought her hand to his cock, wanting to make him feel as good as he made her feel. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and groaned as she stroked him. She felt a heady sort of power watching him respond to her touch.

"Wait," he said, his voice sounding strained. "I want" – she rubbed the top of his cock with her thumb causing him to moan – "I want to fuck you – tell me I can–"

 _"Yes,"_ she hissed out, biting her lip.

She watched him as he stood up and walked over to his nightstand and got out a box of condoms, fumbling as he opened the new box. At her raised eyebrow, he said, "Been a while."

"Let me," Rey said, and Ben passed her the condom. She sat up and tore open the foil and rolled it on his hard cock, feeling the way he was throbbing beneath her hands. He had a thicker cock than any of the other men she had been with, and she wondered what he would feel like inside her. 

She laid back on the bed and parted her thighs like the invitation it was.   
  
Ben's parted. He looked like he wanted to devour her, and he got on the bed and did the next best thing. He kissed her firmly, rubbing his cock against her entrance.

"Don't _tease,"_ Rey said, impatient to have him inside of her.

Ben kissed her softly and then he pepperd her jaw with gentle kisses. He leaned back and lined her cock up at her entrance. 

The slow press of his cock was too much and not enough. He was only part way in, and she already felt so full. She clenched around him, and he let out a deep moan. "Good?" he asked.

Rey nodded. _"More."_

And then he pressed the rest of the way in.

It was like finding your other half. Rey felt her heart pounding like it did when she took risks at work, volunteering for new projects and taking on more responsibility. It was a risk but it felt good because the possibility of something good was more important than the possibility of it not working out. 

She put her hand in his hair and tugged him down into another kiss. Her breath caught as he moved his lips to her throat, her shoulder.

 _"Rey,"_ Ben whispered with so much longing that it made her heart clench in her chest. He thrust into her, harder than before, causing pleasure to build. 

Rey lost track of time. All she was aware of was the sound of his voice in her ear and the sensation of him filling her impossibly deeper with each thrust. Her back arched and she cried out his name as the pleasure built to a crescendo.

He followed her there shortly after, calling out her name and then and then covering her with his body, leaning only some of his weight on her. 

As Rey came back to herself, she pressed her lips to his shoulder.

"You were so" – he said between breaths – "that was–"

Rey cut him off with a kiss. "Yes, it was," she agreed, smiling at him.

His answering grin was so wide it caused her breath to catch in her throat.

🍃🍂🍃

Rey's stomach growled.

Ben laughed, and Rey would have been offended, but he pressed his lips against her cheek. "I'll get food," he said into her ear. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. She had gone to the washroom and cleaned up as best as she could, but she was still flushed and her hair was a mess. 

But she also looked relaxed and happy, unable to keep herself from smiling.

Rey put on her robe and went to join Ben in the kitchen. 

🍃🍂🍃

Ben was reheating the pasta from the night before, wearing only his boxers. His eyes followed her as she approached him. 

Rey kissed him deeply. "That's a _lot_ of food."

"We're going to need the energy," Ben said with his deep voice. "I'm not done with you yet."

Their lips drew together again, like magnets. Rey would never get tired of his lips.

🍃🍂🍃

They ate together on the couch, their legs tangled together, neither of them wanting any distance between them.

Ben gave her the most goofy grin she had ever seen from him, causing her to laugh and grin back. Her previous apprehension had faded away and now she was _giddy._

Kisses and laughter interrupted their meal. By the time Rey had finished eating her food had gone cold, but she hadn't cared because she wanted to kiss him more than she wanted to eat.

🍃🍂🍃

The second time was less frantic, less hurried. Rey savoured every touch.

Nobody had ever looked at her the way Ben did. His gaze was so open and filled with emotion. 

She wondered how she looked at him. From the way he smiled at her, she guessed that her feelings were obvious. 

🍃🍂🍃

Rey's head was on Ben's chest, and she was listening to his heartbeat. His arms were wrapped around her, and she felt warm, content, and like she was on the verge of sleep.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" he asked quietly and with a hint of insecurity that tugged at her heart.

She pressed a kiss to his chest. "I will," she promised. 

"Good," she heard him say as she drifted off into sleep.


	5. The Morning After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to dyadinbloom for the fantastic prompt!
> 
> I figure that we all need something lighthearted right now, so if I brightened someone's day with this fic, I've done my job. Thanks for reading!

Rey was warm and comfortable. She wanted to stay in bed for as long as possible.

"You're still here," Ben said quietly into her ear, sounding relieved. His breath brushed against her neck

She wanted to prove his doubts false. "There's nowhere I'd rather be," she said, pressing her lips against his chin. 

Ben ran his hand through her hair. "I'm glad."

🍃🍂🍃

They stayed in bed for ages, exploring each other's bodies, talking about everything and nothing at all. For Rey, it was the best morning she'd had in a long time. 

"What are you thinking about," Ben asked, his voice soft. 

Rey kissed his shoulder. "You," she answered honestly. 

Ben cupped her face and stroked her cheek. "Good thoughts, I hope."

She looked up at him and smiled. "The best."

He kissed her gently, almost too gently, so Rey parted her lips and deepened the kiss. She wanted him just as badly as she had the night before – more even – and she was starting to let herself believe that they were on the same page. They had time to get to know each other better, to discover all the ways they fit together.

She had never had anything like this before. 

🍃🍂🍃

They had to get out of bed eventually.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Ben asked, stroking her arm. "I don't have eggs, but I have bread and fruit."

"I have a better idea." Rey sat up. "There's somewhere I like to go for breakfast on the weekend."

"Oh?" Ben asked. 

Rey got out of bed and faced Ben. "Get dressed and then we can head out."

"I'm not sure I want to get dressed," he said, pulling her close.

"This place is worth it," she said. "Trust me."

Ben sighed. "Okay, I'll get dressed." He kissed her.

Rey moaned and pulled away. "I have to get more clothes from my apartment. Meet me there."

🍃🍂🍃

Rey's apartment was so warm.  _ Finally, _ she thought.

She put on her favourite bra and underwear, both black and slightly sheer with a lace pattern, hoping Ben would see them later. She chose a long burgundy sweater and dark grey leggings. 

As she was zipping up her black boots, Ben knocked on her door. "Come in," she said.

He walked in and kissed her on the cheek. "You look nice."

"Not so bad yourself," she said, looking him up and down. He was wearing a black sweater and blue jeans, and it was the most casual she had ever seen him dressed. 

Rey grabbed her bag, and Ben followed her into the hallway. She locked her door. "I think you'll like this place."

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "You're not going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope," she said, grinning.

🍃🍂🍃

Just outside of Maz's Castle, Ben let out a loud laugh. 

"What?" Rey asked, raising her eyebrows. 

Ben shook his head. "Nothing," he said with a knowing smile.

🍃🍂🍃

Maz was nowhere to be seen, so Rey guessed she was in the back. 

Rey ordered her usual – a latte and a breakfast wrap – and Ben decided to go with the same. He tried to pay, but she insisted. It was her idea to come here, so she was going to be the one to pay. 

They found seats in the corner at a small round table that afforded them some privacy. 

"What do you think?" Rey asked.

"The place has a lot of… personality," he said carefully.

Rey laughed. "You're not wrong."

One of the baristas brought over their food and drinks. He must have been new because Rey didn't recognize him. 

Her latte was in a bright yellow mug and the latte art was an emoji with heart eyes. She blushed at the accuracy. 

She looked over at Ben's and was disappointed to see he had a plain white cup. She'd wanted him to have the full experience. Though she wasn't disappointed by his latte art. Even though it was simple, hearts were classic latte art, and they complimented her emoji well. "How did you end up with such a plain cup?" she asked.

Ben opened his mouth to answer, but Maz cut him off, appearing at their table seemingly out of nowhere. "I know better than to give Ben here one of my good mugs," Maz said, pointing at him. "He has a bad habit of breaking things."

So Ben had been here before, Rey realized, her eyes widening. And he knew Maz.

"That was  _ one _ time," Ben said, crossing his arms.

Maz raised a single eyebrow. "Once was  _ more _ than enough." 

"How do you know each other?" Rey asked, looking back and forth from Ben to Maz. 

"She's an old family friend," Ben explained.

"Watch who you're calling  _ old," _ Maz said, swatting Ben's arm. "I've known this once since he was in diapers."

"Any good stories?" Rey asked. 

"So many," Maz said, giving Rey a conspiratorial smile. "In fact, this one time–"

"Why don't you save that story for later?" Ben asked, cutting Maz off. He gave her a pleading look.

Maz shook her head. "You don't know which one I was going to tell."

"From the look you gave Rey, I know that I don't want her to know whatever story you had in mind," Ben said. "At least wait until she's decided to stick around."

Rey took his hand. "I already have." She smirked at Maz. "And I'm  _ very _ interested in that story."

Ben leaned his forehead on his palm and groaned. 

🍃🍂🍃

After sharing several delightful stories from Ben's childhood – Rey's personal favourite was the story of a six year old Ben who was  _ convinced _ he could use magic – Maz left them to help the baristas behind the counter.

She'd never seen Ben's face so red before. It was  _ adorable. _

"She didn't scare you off, did she?" he asked.

"Not at all," Rey said. "I still have to find out what happened after you stole your neighbour's bike."

🍃🍂🍃

Rey had wanted to show Ben a place she loved, but it was so much better finding out he already knew the place and Maz. She now had more insight into Ben's childhood and some hilarious stories to torture him with. She knew who she needed to go to for more stories.

Maz came back to their table as they were clearing it. She handed Ben a box of croissants. "These are for you two to share."

Maz turned to Rey. "I told you your luck would turn around."

Rey remembered the miserable morning her heat didn't work. "You were right," she said, grateful that it didn't work. She may not have had the opportunity to get to know Ben if it hadn't broken.

Maz winked. "I always am."

🍃🍂🍃

Rey checked her phone on the walk back to their building.

Rose Tico  
  
**Today** 10:45 AM  
**Rose:** Any updates?  
**Today** 11:03 AM  
**Rey:** My heat got fixed!  
**Today** 11:05 AM  
**Rose:** Not what I meant 😝  
**Today** 11:06 PM  
**Rey:** Just had breakfast at Maz's!  
**Today** 11:07 AM  
**Rose:** Boring! You do that every weekend 😪 Tell me about Ben!  
**Today** 11:08 PM  
**Rey:** Had breakfast with Ben 😘  
**Today** 11:09 AM  
**Rose:** 😄👏🎆😍💋  


She grinned at her phone.

"What's got you smiling like that?"

"I told my friend Rose we had breakfast together. She's very happy." Rey showed him the string of emojis Rose sent. 

He snorted. 

They walked together in a comfortable silence, enjoying the sunny day. And then Rey noticed the pensive look on Ben's face. 

"What?" Rey asked. 

"I know it's too soon, but I'm going to tell my parents about us," Ben said, looking away from her. "Better they find out from me than Maz." 

"I don't mind," Rey said.

He looked back up at her. "So who should I say you are to me? I know we haven't talked about it."

Rey's heart sped up. "Are you in the market for a girlfriend?" she asked, deciding to put herself out there.

Ben smiled. "Only if it's you," he said, taking her hand.

"Then I guess you have a girlfriend," she said.

"I guess I do." Ben kissed her. 

Rey pulled away. "So when do I get to meet the parents?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. She tried not to show how intimidating the idea was.

"They're going to invite you to dinner as soon as they find out about you," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Rey took a deep breath. "I can do dinner." 

"I'll hold them off for a while," Ben said to her relief. "I want more time with you first."

"I'm okay with that," Rey said. More time with Ben was what she needed, and maybe more time with Maz too. She might be able to help her prepare for meeting Ben's parents. "We've spent a lot of time at your place. Do you want to come back to mine?"

Ben nodded. "Your bed looked comfortable," he said in a low voice. "Should we test it out?"

His voice sent shivers down her spine. "We should," she agreed, letting her enthusiasm show in her voice.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on [Tumblr](https://captainmarvel42.tumblr.com) and [Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/Marvel42Captain).


End file.
